VHF antennas are normally long and bulky because the wavelength is on the order of 5 meters. Also, it is difficult to increase their directivity on airborne platforms by using multi-element arrays due to limited space on the aircraft. For these reasons, most airborne VHF antennas have low gain. One leaky wave structure is the so called trough waveguide antenna, but it does not have the same form factor and radiation aperture as an antenna embodying this invention.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a compact high gain antenna useful for airborne applications.